Fur seals at Macquarie Island: post-sealing colonisation, trends in abundance and hybridisation of three species

© Springer-Verlag 2009Commercial sealers exterminated the original fur seal population at Macquarie Island in the early 1800s. The first breeding record since the sealing era was not reported until March 1955. Three species of fur seal now occur at Macquarie Island, the Antarctic (Arctocephalus gazella), subantarctic (A. tropicalis) and New Zealand (A. forsteri) fur seal. Census data from 54 breeding seasons in the period 1954–2007 were used to estimate population status and growth for each species. Between the 1950s and 1970s, annual increases in pup production for the species aggregate were low. Between 1986 and 2007, pup production of Antarctic fur seals increased by about 8.8% per year and subantarctic fur seals by 6.8% per year. The New Zealand fur seal, although the most numerous fur seal species on Macquarie Island, has yet to establish a breeding population, due to the absence of reproductively mature females. Hybridisation among species is significant, but appears to be declining. The slow establishment and growth of fur seal populations on Macquarie Island appears to have been affected by its distance from major population centres and hence low immigration rates, asynchronous colonisation times of males and females of each species, and extensive hybridisation.Simon David Goldsworthy, Jane McKenzie, Brad Page, Melanie L. Lancaster, Peter D. Shaughnessy, Louise P. Wynen, Susan A. Robinson, Kristian J. Peters, Alastair M. M. Baylis and Rebecca R. McIntos

Paraconic Acids: The Natural Products from Lichen Symbiont

Paraconic acids, belonging to the class of g-butyrolactone natural products, display a broad range of biological activities such as antibiotic and antitumor properties. Consequently a great number of synthetic strategies have been devised for them, ranging from diastereoselective and chiral pool approaches to the application of asymmetric catalysis. This review gives a critical account on the different methods developed that lead to paraconic acids of great structural variety

The 2012 Northern Italy Earthquakes: modelling human behaviour

The aim of this study was to investigate human behaviour during the 2012 Northern Italy Earthquakes. Furthermore, the current study used Kuligowski and Mileti's (Fire Saf J 44:487-496, 2009) extended model and the Social Attachment Model as a framework to explain the behavioural responses. The study included 1839 participants who were affected by the earthquake occurred in the Emilia-Romagna region (Italy) on 20 May 2012. The most frequent behavioural responses during the earthquake were moving to another room of the house, escaping from home, and waiting in bed. According to Kuligowski and Mileti's (Fire Saf J 44:487-496, 2009) extended model, perceived risk was associated with evacuation, and emergency preparedness was related to more efficient and effective responses during the earthquake. In line with the Social Attachment Model, affiliation behaviours were more frequent than flight behaviours, while, contrary to predictions, the social context did not influence emotional responses, evacuation behaviour, and search for protection. \ua9 2013 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht